Flexsteel furniture cancels plans to leave Iowa; 200 jobs saved

DUBUQUE, Iowa - After announcing it would leave Iowa last year,Flexsteel Industries Inc., one of the nation's leading upholstery and furniture manufacturers, has changed its mind.

The change comes after the state of Iowa stepped in and offered the residential furniture giant a $10 million incentive package. Flexsteel chose to stay and begin construction on a more modern facility - retaining 200 jobs that would have been lost.

Last Friday, the Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved a $2.1 million incentive package for Flexsteel, which includes a $1 million forgivable loan and more than $1 million in tax credits and refunds. Iowa will also give $8 million in local incentives.

Flexsteel Industries will close a manufacturing facility in Dubuque that employs 250 at the end of 2017.

The company will invest $25 million of its own money in the plant. Construction began this week.

“Flexsteel is pleased to continue manufacturing in Dubuque, a progressive community where our strong workforce delivers great results to our customers every day,” said Flexsteel President and CEO, Karel Czanderna, in a press release. “We look forward to continued success at our new facility and will look back with fondness to Jackson Street, which we called home for over 80 years.”

Last year, Flexsteel announced it would close its current facility by the end of 2017. The facility, dating back to 1897, has become inefficient for manufacturing and costly to maintain, says the company.

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Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at robert.dalheim@woodworkingnetwork.com.